It's hard to improve on the flavor of a soft, juicy raw
pear, but combine it with blue cheese or prosciutto, and you'll have
something truly divine. You can also bake or poach pears, or use
them to make tarts. They become soft and
fragile when they're ripe, so grocers want you to buy them while they're still hard and
then ripen them at home for a few days. Putting
them in a paper bag speeds up the process. They're ready to eat when the
base yields slightly to pressure from your thumb.

Substitutes

apples (Like pears, these are good for baking or eating out of hand.) OR